Let´s dance!

I have decided to take up dancing. "When did you come up with that idea?".. I hear you say.
My answer: "In India - it was prescribed by the doctors"..nice prescription if you ask me :-)

I love to move to a good groove. But with dancing I don´t meant the shaking with a drink around a nightclub - I mean PROPER dancing with a teacher and everything.

The Chinese love to dance and therefore finding a dance instructor here is not a too difficult task. You have the choice of going into one of many parks here in the city and join the groups during their daily "Open Ball room dancing practise".. or you go to one of  dance studios.

Not too far away from where we live, in a loft on Maoming lu, there is a dance studio offering a wide range of different dance classes. Ballet not beeing my sort of thing and "Sexy dancing" not really what I was looking for, I decided to grab my friend Judith to try out one of the Salsa classes there.

The internet described this class as following;

In our Salsa Class for Beginners, you will first practice the basic steps without a partner, then quickly progress to partner work

Basic rhythm, timing and steps

Secrets of being a great Leader or Follower

Partner Connection

Cross-Body Leads

Open Breaks

Basic Right and Left Turns

Cross-Hand Hold

Combinations that put it all together

And more…

Now, I wouldn´t write about this experience if it wasn´t a real China one which happened as follows:

We arrived at the studio and registered. The lady at reception looked up and down on me and asked " have you danced before?"..."Yes, I have" I said proudly. "I did Hip Hop for some years and took also some Salsa lessons"..No need to tell her that all I remembered from the salsa lessons was me and Paul arguing ..."Oh really???" she said and giving me a look like "you don´t come across like that".. "thank you, Bit...".. I thought and beamed back to her in excitement.

We went into the room with maybe another 15 people. When the instructor came in we quickly noticed that we had seen him before dancing away  during a salsa night in JZ bar. He is a tiny chinese guy who, unusual for the folks here, is very good in shaking his hips.

Our little group of students excisted of a bunch of Chinese girls, a couple of Chinese guys and a few lao wais (foreigners) from Spain and Brazil - surprise..and Judith and myself. In summary 70% women, 30% men.

But we were not worried because this was a beginners class and partner dancing was not expected..that´s what we thought.

After about 4 minutes of simple warm up steps the teacher very quickly moved on (and encouraged us by loud shouting) to partner dancing and - even worse - switching partners over and over.

With not even a hand ful men in the room, and knowing that the male "lao wai" species was just too keen to practise with one of the chinese light feathers, Judith and I decided to stick to ourselfes as partners. For me that was very conventient because Judith is actually a quite exprienced Salsa dancer!

Another 15 minutes later the instructor increased the challenge level and we found ourselfes nearly breaking our backs in a what I consider "advanced" position.

Thanks to regular yoga practise I could almost meet the expectations!

But if you think this was  great - than wait for what comes next:
The next move was going to be a lift up pose. The teacher demonstrated it to us with a tiny chinese girl and it goes as follows:

1. The guy knees in front of the woman
2. The woman lifts her left leg up on his shoulder
3. The men stands up, wrapping his arms around the womans hips
4. The woman leans back against his arms with leg on his shoulder and head and arms hanging graciously towards the floor.
5. The men swirls the woman around - and everybody is happy..

Seeing this the guys in the classroom whent a little white..and so did I when the teacher decided that the best way to encourage his fellows was to give another demonstration by using - ME!

Of coarse I could not say no to the invitation in order to not loose face. Just as I stood in front of him I sweetly smiled and hissed at him " whatever you say, be nice!!).
So instead of using words, he spread out his arms with  a "Tadaaa..look-at-this-big-lao-wai-woman which-I-tiny men-am-about-to-lift-up, look"...before I placed my leg on his shoulder....

...and so it happened that a whole bunch of Salsa students have now a picture on their I-phone showing a short men, lifting up an "enormours-feeling-woman" and her head is nearly hitting the floor.

Latest when the group moved on to the next step - which was basically jump on your (male) partner wrap your legs round him  like a squid and bend your back to the floor, Judith I had enough.
This was not Salsa, this was acrobatics! Even Judith agreed: This course is not for us.

But if you think I give up than I must tell you wrong:

Will try bally dancing next!!  :)

Return to Moganshan

About a year ago Paul and I ventured out to the Bamboo forests of Moganshan, a good 3 hour drive from Shanghai. This year we decided to ask our friends Benno, Kerstin, Atilla and Judith to join us.And so it happened that last Friday the 6 of us boarded a  hired mini van loaded full of goodies like beer, wine,  crisps and BBQ essentials.

It took us over one hour to get to the outskirts of the city. But once we hit the motorway we had the road all to ourselfes.

3,5 hours later we arrived at Moganshan House #23.. a beautifully restored villa up on the hill in the forest which I can highly reccomend if you consider visiting Moganshan.

We had been very excited to go and all had been fantasizing  of long warm nights outside in the garden and outdoor BBQ´s especially as the weather in Shanghai looked ever so promising during the previous weeks.

But Murphys law struck us: We left the city in beautiful sunshine - only  to wake  up on saturday morning in pooring rain...

.. and mist...

But this didn´t stop us from going hiking anyway!

No weather in the world could stop Paul from having a BBQ in the evening.
And  afterwards we enjoyed a good games night in front of the open fire place

On Sunday the  weather was even worse and of coarse as it could be any different: When we arrived back in Shangers in the evening we were welcomend by "blue" skies..

But nevermind: We had great fun up in the woods and one thing for sure we all appreciated over the weekend:  The green, the space and the fresh air!

Memories of Shanghai - an "Expat" Photoshooting

Today I would like to share with you a story which came together during an "Expat memory" -photoshoot with Sonja a few weeks ago.  Sonja lived in Shanghai for a year and it was time for her now  to return back to Germany. We spent a whole day visiting her favorite places and created a picture story capturing "Sonja´s" Shanghai.

What made this job a little special was that Sonja used to live round the corner from us.We even used to go to the same yoga studio. So in this photostory you will not only see Sonjas favorite spots - Yoga Space, her home, the Bund, Pudong Skyline and meet her best friend Judith - but also get a nice feel for Gao an Road (where we live)  and where Paul and I go when we are too lazy to cook :-)

Let me show you what a (sunny) day in an Expat life here can be like  :

CLICK HERE

Typical China! - Snapshots

Some say that Shanghai isn´t really China. Let me tell you this: There isn´t a single day I walk out in front of our door  and don´t  get to see something "typical Chinese". Most of the time I don´t have my camera with me. But today I came across some snapshots and decided to share them with you because they summarize nicely what you run in to when you are living here:

Classic #1 : The Shanghai dog beeing taken for his "walk"

The Shanghainese are ahead of the rest of China and probably don´t need a one-child-only policy anymore. The young and trendy who earn enough money to enjoy nice lifestile have decided that a dog is much less pain and much more affordable alternative to a baby. They makes a nice accessoire, too!

The citizens here are so crazy about dogs (and I don´t mean that they end up on the menue ) that some months ago the City government released the "One -dog-per-household-only- policy" - no joking! With an estimated 500.000 dogs in town they probably thought enough is enough.

Living as a dog in Shanghai may not be a dream-incarnation, but still better than beeing born as a Chicken:

Classic #2: The Chicken Street Vendor

Here you see a  chicken vendor with his bike closing a deal with a woman who happend to pass by. That the poor buggers are alife and kept squeezed in a tiny cage is already not so nice.

But what adds a little spice to the scene is that the chopping board (with remaining chicken pieces stuck to it) is placed right next to them.

Attached to the bike is also a steaming drum. I´m not quite sure what that is for and we probably don´t want to know... 

 

Classic # 3 : The slit trousers

The reason I took this picture was originally because it was just a fun scene with baby wearing sun glases and it´s little yellow outfit. Only at second glance I noticed the babies bottom is actually sticking out of it´s pants.

This is something you get to see a lot in China. Not so much in Shanghai, but the further you go out of town or into the poorer regions it is the usual sight.You can buy slit trousers for the little ones that for when they need a waz, all you need to do is make them squat.

I can´t help it but thinking: How handy! Just think about it: Immediate reaction to the babies need possible wherever you go. No pulling down trousers, no need to change nappies (at least in summer) - and always a light breeze to cool the babies bottom :-).
(In winter they do wear nappies underneath).


Some of you might think now " They are crazy over there!!".. but think a minute:
Wasn´t it Paris Hilton who showed the world that the best way to present your new handbag is by sticking a dog in your latest handbag?
How long ago was it that our parents - and if not them our grandparents - bought their chickens life because a fridget wasn´t in the house?
And isn´t it one of the joys for kids to run round the garden in summer letting the sun shining on their exposed lower backs? ..

If we are honest - after all we are not soo different :-)

Finding Nemo and Paradise

One of the great things about living in Asia is that some of the best beaches are - relatively spoken - close to you. With only 4 hours flight to Manila and no jetlag from Shanghai the Philipines make a great paradise get away. We had never been to the Philipines, so it was about time that we found out if it is true that some the beaches are supposed to be best in the world.

We found paradise. Not in Manila but another 1 hour flight later on Palawan, 3 hours drive through the jungle to Port Barton  and 1 hour by boat later we made it to Turtle bay.

We were stranded on this dream island with absoluteling NOTHING to do but to eat, sleep, read, snorkling, a bit of kayaking, followed by more snoozing.

Most of the time we just lazed in our hammocs and gazed at the amazing colours nature had to offer.
And that is about all we can tell you about our last couple of weeks :-)

Want to find out more about this Secret Paradise resort? Click HERE

A romantic stroll in Hangzhou - Chinese style

In early April it was "tomb sweeping day" in China - one of those  national holidays where every one ends up working over the weekend in order to get 3 days off during the week. 

Originally we had planned to go away to climb  the Yellow Mountains . But than lazyness took over and we decided to venture out for day trip to Hangzhou instead.

Hangzhou is considered one of the most romantic cities in China. It is located 190km south of Shanghai and it´s main attraction is a huge man made lake which is surrounded by mountains and teaplantations. The new high speed train takes you there within one hour and therefore makes it a perfect daytrip from Shanghai.

Having learnt from previous national holiday experiences we knew that we were not going to be the only ones with the idea of getting out of town, especially as the weather was forecasted to be good.

Already at Honqiao trainstation in Shanghai we got a pre-taste of what to expect on our journey:

But before we were able to take off we were rejected to enter the train first time -  My great chinese skills had sucessfully managed to us buy train tickets in advance - for a day earlier. So we had que up to buy new ones. Believe it or not - despite the chaos it took only 10 minutes.

By mid day we had made it to the Westlake in Hangzhou and started walking around enjoying the sun and the flowering trees. Every now and then we came past a tea house or temple.

Springtime:

(My chinese posing skills, well developed by now...)

It doesn´t really matter if you visit Hangzhou on a weekend or national holiday.  It is  always busy because it is such a popular tourist spot. But when the country is off you get a little extra challenge - keeping balance on the bridges that cross the water and making sure that the crowd doesn´t push you over the edge. It is MEGA busy and in some corners like this passage way below it can get a little chaotic.

Can you see me?:

A still picture doesn´t really bring across what it was really like. We threfore took a couple of mini films to share this little chaos with you. You will get a nice impression of what it can be like in China - hillarious!.. and a little extra fun when you find out you went in the wrong lane and have to walk against! the crowd :-)

Film 1 - click HERE

Film 2 - click HERE


Now,  I can hear you shouting " Oh my god"... :-)...But you know what? It was still real good fun to be there and that´s when we noticed that well into our second year we have adjusted and found our place in China and it´s crowds . After all we are also nothing else than little ants wandering in the middle kingdom

Despite the chaos, despite the noise - at th end of the day it was a nice walk on a sunny day.
Just us - a couple of other people in search for romance :-)

and...ACTION!!!

... a bit of Bridget Jones Feeling in Gao an Lu...
***************************************************

Shanghai is full of surprises and you never know what to expect. The other week for example we woke up in a Filmset. You wonder how that came along? - here is a fun story:

Right below our kitchen there used to be a cafe. It only opened a few months ago and just as I had predicted it closed 6 months after the opening again. Either the concept of selling glasses, scarfs and cafe at the same time didn´t work or the landlord got a little too greedy -  a common problem in Shanghai.

A couple of weeks ago we noticed someone starting to work inside the old cafe again and we wondered what kind to etablisement would move in next.

So on a regular Tuesday morning,  I was washing up the breakfast dishes,  I noticed a bunch of people gathering right below the kitchen window acting important. I also saw big flower decorations piled up at the entrance door. In China this indicates that a new "something" is opening.

Curious and excited to find out who would be our new neighbour I ventured out in front of the door - and  found myself confronted with a film camera

"Wow", I thought, "this this is exciting. They have convered the place into a  small shop selling..
Oh my god! - CHOCOLATE??!!!!"

Instantly my mind started going wild: A chocolate cafe right below our kitchen! What a danger zone to put right under my bed! What a fantastic idea! Imagine going out in the morning and having every day a chocolate takeaway!!!! Who needs Starbucks when you can have a fresh hot chocolate instead??...

My excitement was soon  noticed by a guy who seemed to be involved somehow.
In my little Chinese I started getting carried away saying things like "I live up there, you know... chocolate right below my kitchen.. I LOVE chocolate!... can we install a lift for morning deliveries???". (.. no joking I said that!)

The guy looked at me, told me he is from Hongkong, therefore not speaking Mandarin and laughed out loud before he said "Only one day"..I didn´t really understand and wondered if he meant that there will be free chocolate for everyone only for the opening day?? (don´t ask, that´s how my mind works sometimes)

Then I started looking around and suddenly the whole thing seemed a bit strange to me. Such a scene for such a smal shop, even if it was for expensive European chocolate. Something was wrong here.

I crossed the street, looked at the big picture  and than I realized what was going on:
The little cafe had been turned into a filmset!!

That explained why it took them only 2 days from starting building until re-opening! It was only in the windows where you could see that it was a new chocolate cafe. Behind the scenes you could still see the old decorations.

I went back to the guy I was chatting to originally and he laughed at me, confirming "Yes, we are filming a love story related to a chocolate. It is a Korean - Japanese Production. Right now we are only filming the surroundings, in the evening we will do the shooting with the real actors".

"Cool" I said " you know I live upstairs?".. "Oh do you?" he said. "Do you want to be part of it and walk past the shop in one of the shoots some time later?"...what me?..."SURE!!!... just ring the door bell for Lincoln when you need me!"...and off I was back upstairs, digging into my wardrobe  whilst already phantasizing about dining with George Clooney one day... :-)

The day went on and they actually didn´t ask me to come out. But when I saw how much effort it took them to shoot only a mini scene of just people walking down the path and how many takes it took them until they were satisfied I really didn´t mind. The director told me something about 9 hours of filming for 5 minutes of movie material.

Shooting a film in Shanghai must be kind of an extra challenge. It was hillarious to watch how hard they tried to keep the set free from any pedestrians, cyclists, busdrivers or bin collectors. And even when they managed  to keep everyone out and quiet - next doors dog went wild behind the wall.

When it was lunch time the whole crew just set up their tables and chairs right in front of our door step.

When I went out to get some lunch I noticed the older couple Mr. And Mrs Jing from downstairs who were just as excited as I was all day. In fact every time I went outside Mrs Jing was there and gave me a big hug of sheer excitement. I  haven´t learnt any movie related chinese vocabulary, but I could make out that it was also her first film set in life.

At one point in the afternoon the door bell rang - I thought it was showtime. But it was only the manager and asked if it would be possible if in the evening they could install some lights in our kitchen for better  effect on the outside. "Sure" I said.. "But I have one condition -  Chocolate!! "
He gave me a big laugh and promised to bring some when they had finished.

And so it came that - even if it was just our kitchen - we  became involved in  a film production

To be honest, the effect outside looked very nice:

By the time it was 9pm I was back at my kitchen sink, washing up dinner plates - and watching the directors over the shoulder. Now they were doing the real shooting with actors inside the cafe.

By 10:30pm they were finally done. Gao An Lu went back to normal -

and Paul and I got to enjoy some nice chocolates for dessert

So just in case you are into Korean - Japanese Romances:

The movie will be called "Sweetheart Chocolate" and play in Shanghai.

... and I´m sure that if you keep a very close eye on the screen, for a mini second you will be able to see a western woman dancing around her kitchen, right behind the windows above the cafe! :-)

Visitors! a fun week in Shangers

This time our Easterbunny held a very special present for us. Three of our oldest friends - Moni, Chris and Jochen -  from Germany came to stay with us. After their one week cultural tour to Beijing and Xi an , they made it for a fun week to Gao An Road, Shanghai. Just in time for Easter -  which  by the way is no holiday in China.

Still, this didn´t stop us from keeping up with our traditions and therefore for Easter Sunday we ventured out to Century park to join the locals for a picnic.

For my nan and sister I need to point out that the picnic basked was packed again with self baked Easter bunnies based on the recipe of my grand mother :-)

There is a lot to do in Century Park! For example enjoying the rides in the fun park....

...or letting kites fly which is officially not allowed.

But everyone does it and Jochen mastered it just like a local:

Later in the evening we took advantage of the good weather and enjoyed a "Easter BBQ" at home, followed by a late night of playing Jenga

Having discovered the convenience of our fake markets it was very soon time for

SHOPPING!

But we made sure that the cultural programm didn´t fall too short.

So we ventured out one day to Xujiajao Water town

and the area of  Tianzifang in Shanghai where the popular Teddybear cafe is located.

It is so cute! EVERYTHING is about Teddybears...

even the pizzas...

And on our last day we all ventured into old Shanghai to discover a bit of real China:

Dear Moni, Chris and Jochen:

Thanks for coming all the way across the globe to see us.

It was very special and just GREAT to have you round!

We will miss you and look forward again to see you on the other side :-)

With all our love from "Chinatown" :-)....